The Brink of War
by Art-Over-Matter
Summary: When traitors take control of the starship Enterprise and try to destroy it, Kirk is forced to make a very difficult decision in order to save the crew. Second installment in my Star Trek series. (The first is A Risk Worth Taking.) Rated T for violence.
1. Part I - The Brink of War

_Kirk __*_

_Captain's Log stardate 2372.9. After spending several months at Starbase 6 for repairs, the Enterprise is prepared to return to her journey. A few of our officers have been temporarily replaced while they go on a long shore leave. The new officers will stay with us while we head out to the Alpha Quadrant of the galaxy, about a day from this base._

"So, Lieutenant Reves and Lieutenant Varn, I heard you two are new to a starship. Just got out of the Academy a few years back."

"Yes, sir," Lt. Reves, the dark-haired man, answers. "I've never been on a starship like this before. It's a Constellation class, isn't it?"

Kirk smiles. "Yes, it is. What about you, Miss Varn?" he addresses the woman with light, curly brown hair and slightly slanted eyebrows.

She doesn't smile. "I have been on a starship briefly, but have never served on one."

Spock speaks for the first time. "Judging by your appearance and your behavior as far as I have observed, you are part Romulan. Am I correct, Lieutenant Varn?"

She smiles this time, an interesting smile aimed directly at the Vulcan. "Yes, I am, Commander…"

"Spock," he answers emotionlessly.

"Spock," she echoes. "What an interesting Vulcan name."

Kirk is noticing how attractive this half-Romulan woman is, and he suddenly likes it a little less. "Well, we're glad to have you aboard, Lieutenant Varn, Lieutenant Reves," he says, nodding to each of them. "It will be a pleasure to work with you while our other officers are taking leave. Why don't you take a look around?" He gestures for Scotty to come over to take the two of them out, which he does.

"She's an interesting woman, isn't she?" he says to Spock once they're gone.

"I find them both to be average Starfleet officers, the likes of which I have encountered many times."

Kirk rolls his eyes.

_Scott __*_

Scotty rather enjoys giving the new officers a tour of the _Enterprise. _They seem very interested in the way the starship works, and, strangely, interested in the ventilation system.

"It circulates through the whole ship?" Lt. Reves asks.

Mr. Scott nods. "It does. Of course, certain vents can be blocked, to some level, but they're all connected."

"Are there access tunnels to it?" he asks, looking at the vent in the engineering room, which can't be opened.

"Well, yes," Scotty says, but he decides not to give any more information. He appreciates their interest in how the beautiful _Enterprise _works, but the curiosity about the ventilation system is out of place.

"And you power this entire thing just with a few crystals," Lt. Varn says, admiring the engine room somewhat expressionlessly. "Dilithium crystals are very powerful, and I've read a lot about them, but I've never seen one."

"Well, I'll just say the entire ship is not powered only by the crystals," he corrects, "it's a whole balance of things, but they are the main matter-antimatter generators. And I can't show you them right now, but we're going to Alpha-Deci 5 tomorrow to pick up some more, if you'd like to come."

Lt. Varn smiles slightly. "That would be most interesting. If I'm not preoccupied with something else, I will go with you."

_Spock __*_

The next 'day,' the command crew and some of the new officers are gathered in the bridge to monitor and witness their arrival at Alpha-Deci 5.

The planet is almost entirely green from above, since most of its water is underground, but still able to support plant life. Mister Spock cannot help but feel rather out of place when he's on a planet of that type—it is so unlike Vulcan—so he is satisfied that he will not accompany the captain and Mr. Scott to the surface. In the back of his mind, though, there is the ever-present thought that he has never really belonged anywhere, so he cannot feel more out of place on one planet than anywhere else. Half-human, half-Vulcan…

Their ship sets orbit around the green planet and the captain rises from his chair. "Are you sure you're not coming, Mister Spock?"

"Quite certain, Captain," he replies.

Kirk shrugs and gestures for Mr. Scott to follow him. By the turbolift, the two of them meet up with the new officers. Spock is not watching them as he checks his instruments again for any unusual signs, but he can hear what they say quite clearly.

"I heard some of you were interested in coming to the planet with us. If you'd like, you can come with Mr. Scott and me to the transporter room."

And a reply: "That would be very nice, Captain."

As the turbolift doors open, Mr. Scott asks, "I thought Lieutenant Varn wanted to see the dilithium. Is she off doing something else?"

"I believe so, sir."

_Kirk __*_

The transporter is functional, for once, and the party of four beam down to Alpha-Deci 5. The planet reminds Kirk of Earth, but it's quite unlike where he grew up. It's almost entirely forest, except off in the distance, where they've cleared it for mining.

The leader of the mining operation is there to meet them when they appear.

"Ah, you must be James Kirk of the USS _Enterprise. _Here to pick up your new dilithium?"

Kirk smiles and shakes the man's outstretched hand. "Yes, I am. I assume you have all the information necessary and I'm merely here to grab what I need."

"Yes, sir."

They follow the man into a building. Getting the dilithium is quick, only taking a few minutes. Then the party comes back out and Kirk flips open his communicator.

"Kirk to _Enterprise. _We're ready to beam up." There's no reply. Jim frowns and adjusts the frequency. "Kirk to transporter room. We're ready to beam in."

"Why aren't they replyin' sir?" Scotty asks, looking concerned.

Kirk marvels at Scotty's ability to state or ask the most obvious and unanswerable things. "I don't know, Mr. Scott. I'm trying to figure that out. Here, maybe it's something with my communicator. Let me try yours."

The engineer hands over his communication device and Kirk takes it. "Kirk to _Enterprise. _Come in."

There is still no answer.

_Uhura __*_

"You look like you're tired, Lieutenant," Lt. Varn notices.

Nyota looks up. "Oh, no, I'm quite fine, thank you."

"You know, I've studied to be a communications officer. It would please me to experience your job, just for a little while, if you wanted to rest."

Uhura smiles, but she's wondering why she does feel suddenly so tired. She had gotten fine rest the 'night' before. And it's not just her, since she just heard Chekov complain that he was feeling tired as well.

"It's alright."

"If you say so. I just thought, as a starship officer, you would always need to be perfectly alert."

She frowns. She knows Varn is half Romulan, so she might be rather blunt and emotionless, like a Vulcan, but she still finds the comment almost insulting.

"I think I'm doing well enough for the job, Lieutenant Varn. But if you would like to try the controls here, you are welcome to."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Uhura. I appreciate it."

If only Uhura had ever heard _that _from a particular Vulcan.

She stands up and lets Varn sit down. She hopes the captain won't be angry with her for this. She decides to stay and supervise just in case something odd happens.

She begins to be rather concerned as she turns to look at the occupants of the bridge. Chekov is slumped in his chair as though he has fallen asleep sitting up, and Mr. Sulu is looking tired as well. Mister Spock seems to be unaffected, but that's wholly unsurprising.

Uhura yawns. This net of exhaustion is so sudden and inexplicable that she decides to go to Sickbay to check in with Doctor McCoy.

She goes to Mister Spock, saying, "I'm going to go to Sickbay, if you don't mind. Lieutenant Varn says she can keep up my communications work, but I think you should keep an eye on her."

Mister Spock frowns. "What has suddenly prompted you to go to the sickbay, Lieutenant? I believe you just said you are doing well enough for your job."

"I don't know," she replies. "I just feel strangely tired all of a sudden. Could I go now?"

"You may," he says, still frowning.

Uhura wonders if he's actually concerned about her welfare. Regardless, she goes to the turbolift. As soon as the doors close behind her, she collapses from exhaustion into a deep sleep.

_McCoy __*_

"All of them are healthy and fit for duty. But I'm not familiar with Romulan anatomy, so I could only do my best with Lieutenant Varn."

Bones raises his eyebrows. "It does seem odd that we've got a half-Romulan aboard, doesn't it?"

Christine nods. "With all due respect, I'm not sure I can trust a Romulan."

"Well," McCoy says, "she's gone through all the training of a Starfleet officer, so I'm sure it won't be a problem."

"Yes, sir." She hands him the results of her checkups with the new officers and leaves.

McCoy slips the small, transparent disc into the computer. The screen lights up as the door to the room opens. He turns around to see one of the new officers standing there. The man looks almost as though he's near passing out.

"Doctor, I…." He starts to collapse.

McCoy rushes to the man's side and catches him before he falls to the floor. He starts to shout for Christine, but then the man punches him in the face. Startled, McCoy drops him and steps back. The officer—Bones thinks his name is Reves—stands up and tries to kick McCoy's stomach, to no success. Bones catches his ankle and yanks him off his feet.

What he didn't see behind him was what hit him with a phaser beam and knocked him unconscious.

_Spock __*_

_Jim has been gone for too long._

Spock gets weary with the mysterious disappearances of James Kirk. Couldn't the captain just stay out of trouble?

No.

Apparently not.

"Lieutenant Uhu—Varn, contact the captain. It is time to test your knowledge of the communications post. Try each communicator until the landing party can be reached."

Spock finds the woman looking at him strangely. Unfortunately, he has been around humans enough to know that this is a look expressing fondness or admiration.

"Yes, sir," she answers. She adjusts frequencies and tries to contact the communicators on the planet below. It is with less experience and expertise than the way Lieutenant Uhura would do it, but she is still perfectly capable of manning the controls.

"No response, sir. The communicators are receiving the signals, but there are none returned. Anything else, Commander Spock?"

"No, that is sufficient. I am going to beam to the surface to find the captain. You can stay at this post. Mr. Sulu?" He turns to find that Mr. Sulu is slumped over his controls, asleep. Beyond striking him as odd, the way the humans are behaving is beginning to make him nervous. His mind is level, calm, and utterly in control, but he can't push away the emotions that he so humanly feels at times.

"Mr. Sulu." Sulu still does not wake up. Spock shakes his head and begins to walk over to him when Lt. Varn speaks.

"It's because we are not human, isn't it? They're acting different because we're not entirely human like they are."

Spock turns around. "I would say that they are not _acting _at all. But… yes, whatever has gone wrong is not affecting us undoubtedly because we are not human."

Varn seems to be analyzing him, almost pityingly. "It's hard being half one, and half the other, isn't it?"

It occurs to him that she would know about this feeling he experiences constantly. "Yes, but that is hardly my concern right now, Lieutenant. I am going to find the captain."

She stands up and blocks his way to the turbolift. "Doesn't it bother you that you don't have anyone who understands you? Don't you feel this loneliness every day, and have nothing to do about it?"

Spock is alarmed. This woman is doing amazingly well with stirring up emotion inside of him: curiosity, resentment, confusion, impatience, and… a feeling of isolation.

"I am not alone," he answers her slowly. "You do not realize that the captain is my friend, Lieutenant. Which is why I am going to beam to the planet now." He waits for her to move aside. She does, looking almost disappointed.

The turbolift door opens to reveal an unconscious Lieutenant Uhura. Spock immediately crouches to check her condition.

His hands are suddenly yanked behind his back and tied together with some kind of rope. He struggles against it, but it's surprisingly strong.

Lieutenant Varn pulls him to his feet and wraps the cord around his neck. "I will not kill you, Commander Spock. But I can tell you won't cave to anything I say yet, so I'm going to have to confine you." The rope tightens around his neck. Not enough to choke him, but enough of a threat for her to lead him away from the bridge.

Spock struggles again, hoping he can get into a position to do his nerve pinch.

He doesn't get to as he's escorted into the turbolift, right over Lt. Uhura.

_McCoy __*_

Bones comes conscious alone in a room. He's lying on some sort of bench, and it's not particularly comfortable.

He sits up and looks to the door. There actually is no door, but there's an electric field there, which means he's trapped. The rest of room is empty, except for one chair.

There's some noise down the hall and Bones stand up to see what it is.

The half-Romulan woman is forcing Spock toward McCoy's cell. She has a cord around the Vulcan's neck and probably around his wrists as well.

"Spock. Damn it," McCoy says as the force field is let down for a few seconds and the Vulcan is shoved inside.

Spock takes a moment to catch his breath, then says, "If you have any more useful comments, Doctor, please share them."

Bones rolls his eyes. "So who's in charge of the _Enterprise_?"

Spock looks at him grimly. "I am uncertain of that. That's our secondary problem."

"The first one bein' getting out of here?"

Spock nods and analyzes the force field. "It does, however, seem illogical to attempt to escape when we are both aware that this room is sealed."

"What, we're going to have to escape by using some form of trickery?"

"Or something," Spock answers absentmindedly. He is, despite what he just said, scanning the corners and ceiling for some form of escape.

McCoy sighs and goes back to the bench to sit down. "Well, Jim will be back before long and he won't stand for this."

"I don't think so, Doctor. The captain cannot communicate with us. Someone has blocked the communication to and from the landing party. Even if we tried to beam them aboard, we do not know their coordinates."

Bones wants to cuss. "What now, then?"

Spock runs his hands along the corners of the wall. Then he stops and turns to McCoy. "Now we wait, or we try to find a way out."

_Kirk __*_

"These people don't have the technology to transport us up to the ship," Kirk says for the third time. He's pacing in front of the building, worried and unsettled. "Who did this?"

"My only assumption is that it was some of the new officers," Scotty answers, even though the question wasn't directed at anyone. "It can only be caused by somethin' from within the ship."

Kirk nods, not liking the thought that someone untrustworthy is aboard his _Enterprise. _"But who? Which ones?" Kirk realizes he's asking the exact unanswerable questions he had just been mentally accusing Mr. Scott of.

"Well, we can just hope Mister Spock is taking care of everything," Scotty suggests.

Jim sighs. "I have a feeling Spock is in as bad of a situation as we are."

"Is there any way we can signal to the ship from down here?"

"Not without a radio signal of some sort," Kirk grumbles. "There's nothing we can do that would be visible from all the way up there." He's getting genuinely concerned. What would they be doing to Spock, since he would surely be the next target?

"This planet doesn't have interspace communication, does it?" one of the new officers who came with them asks.

"No. Why?"

"I was wondering if we could contact Starfleet."

"Not a chance, lad," Mr. Scott says. "This is a human colony, but they haven't accepted _all _the new technologies."

Jim swears. Scotty and the other man look up. "Nothing," he dismisses them. "I just hate these situations."

_Spock __*_

"Spock, we can't get out of here. Face it."

Spock's frustrated emotion is showing, even to Doctor McCoy.

"Just sit down, would you?"

He sits in the chair.

He has a feeling the ship is not in orbit around Alpha-Deci 5 anymore. If so, where is it headed? What is the captain doing? How long until someone comes to do something with him and McCoy?

He stands up again and this time climbs on top of the chair so that he can examine the ceiling more closely.

McCoy heaves a sigh and stands. He reaches up and puts his hand on Spock's forearm. "Spock. You can't—"

"Doctor."

"You can't get out of he—"

"Doctor, I believe I just found a way."

McCoy stops speaking and frowns. "What?"

"Give me a moment."

"Whatever you need," the doctor says somewhat sarcastically. He sits with a huff back down on the bed.

_McCoy __*_

Within moments, Spock has broken open a small vent and unscrewed a piece of metal from the interior. He is now looking pleased with himself, despite the fact that he would undoubtedly say that he is not feeling any such emotion.

"What the hell are you going to do with that?" Bones asks, glaring at the metal sheet.

"This," Spock answers unhelpfully. He goes to the doorway and wedges the piece of metal in a small crack between the electric field generator and the wall. He tilts the metal and uses it as a lever to pry the generator from the wall.

Bones wonders how this entire plan went through the Vulcan's head as soon as he saw the air vent. He blames it on the pointy ears.

"Doctor," Spock says, releasing his pressure from the sheet of metal. "I am going to have you do this."

"Why?"

Spock doesn't answer and just hands the piece to McCoy, who takes it. As soon as he touches the metal, he feels that it has some sort of liquid on it. Frowning, he looks down to see green blood on the metal and now on his hands. His gaze darts up to Spock, who is wiping blood off of his hands and onto his uniform. He figures the Vulcan had to use quite a lot of force to pull the vent off the ceiling, as well as pry up the metal. It bothers the doctor part of him that he has nothing to do about it, but he has a more important job now.

Bones places the metal back where Spock had it and starts to push against the generator door frame. It takes a lot of grunting and shoving, but eventually the piece tears off the wall with a crunching sound. A jolt of electric pain shoots up McCoy's arms and he drops the piece of metal with a swearword.

"Well done, Doctor," Spock says. The comment surprises McCoy; the Vulcan actually means it.

He, however, doesn't want Spock to have anything go to his head, so he replies, "Good choice with the metal and electricity. It's a fantastic combination."

Spock looks at him for a moment. McCoy can't tell what he's thinking—as always.

"Well, shall we go?" Bones asks, waving somewhat dramatically at the door.

"I am uncertain of why you're hesitating," Spock says as he strides past the doctor and into the hallway.

McCoy sighs and follows the Vulcan out.

They've hardly gone down the hall and turned the corner when they're met with two phaser points.

"Not yet," Lt. Reves says.

_Chekov __*_

"Lieutenant Uhura. Lieutenant Uhura, wake up!"

"Maybe she doesn't know how to 'vake' up, Chekov," Mr. Sulu says with an amused expression. "Maybe you should try telling her to _wake _up."

Chekov rolls his eyes and sighs in annoyance.

Uhura clearly is coming conscious, because she smiles, having heard their conversation. "I'm sure Mr. Chekov meant them to be synonymous."

"How are you?" Chekov asks.

She sits up. "Fine. Where are we?"

Chekov and Sulu look at each other.

"Right now we're in the room you were confined to after you fell asleep," Chekov answers. "It took a lot for us to even drag ourselves out of the bridge, but we know what happened."

"Or we guessed," Sulu corrects.

"And?" she says, standing up and taking a phaser from Sulu.

"One of those new lieutenants, named Reves, put some kind of sedative gas in the ventilation system directed toward the bridge. We talked to one of the engineering officers who said the man had been asking persistently about it."

"What about Spock?"

Chekov isn't quite sure why Uhura would immediately ask about the Vulcan, but he answers, "I don't know. I fell asleep right there, and then when I woke up, he was gone."

"Are we going to go find him?" she asks as they leave the room.

"No," Mr. Sulu says. "Sorry, but we're going straight to the shuttlebay."

"Why? Where are we going?" she asks in confusion.

"We're not in orbit around the planet anymore," Chekov says. "We're going back to find the captain."

_Spock __*_

"Miss Varn," Lt. Reves says, "we're going to have to do something with them. If they tried something once, they will try it again."

She considers this. "I suppose. How do you suggest we eliminate them?"

Reves looks at the two of them in a way that Spock interprets as regretfully. "We could kill them."

Varn looks startled. "Yes, I—I think that would work. But is it worth that?"

"Michelle," Reves hisses, "our people are at stake. Are these two lives more important than theirs?"

"I wasn't suggesting they were," she replies vehemently. "Fine, Reves. Take the doctor away. Don't kill the Vulcan."

"I do not—" Spock begins, but he's cut off by a gesture from Varn.

"Do not protest, Vulcan," she says tightly. "I am sparing your life."

The female security guard next to Lt. Reves steps forward and grabs McCoy, who doesn't struggle. With a phaser to his back, she and Reves escort the doctor away.

Spock looks stiffly back to Lt. Varn. "Now what is your plan, Lieutenant?"

She points her phaser at him and gestures for him to walk. He has no choice but to do so.

"I am going to take you back to a room and confine you until this is all over."

Spock is silent as he works the past few minutes over in his head. "Lieutenant Reves said your people are at stake. What did he mean by that?"

She glances at him, then dismisses whatever hesitancy she had, saying, "Since you won't go anywhere until this is over, I might as well tell you." She sighs. "Mr. Reves and I are from a human colony on Beta-Census Two. We are near a war with an alien species that we believe we can't win. So he and I managed to get into Starfleet as students so that we could have a starship. We thought we would have time to become captains, but that takes too many years. Now, along with two of your officers who we have convinced of our cause, we will steer this starship to a space station where it will be taken apart and rebuilt as a war machine. That way we can at least stand a chance."

Spock stops walking. Varn snaps, "Come on. I don't have time to play games."

"I am not playing a game," he tells her. "Lieutenant, if you had explained your situation from the beginning, we could have devised a far more efficient way for you do this. As I recall, the Beta-Census solar system has not contacted Earth since the colony left in the twenty-second century. You must not be part of the United Federation of Planets."

"No," she says bluntly, waiting for him to go on.

"Why did you not bring this up with Starfleet? That would be the logical thing to do."

"You may be a Vulcan and think everything is about logic, but we—they are only human. We are not part of Starfleet, so why would we come to them with our problems?"

"My point is that you do not have to kill to achieve your goal. Starfleet can help you do this, most likely without violence."

"We cannot wait," she says, prodding him with the phaser so he will go into his new confinement room. "It will happen the way we planned it, and if necessary, there will be a few deaths, including that of your friend. That is better than the destruction of our civilization."

Spock does not enter the room all the way so that Varn can't turn on the electric field. "Lieutenant," he insists, "you cannot do this. There is another, more logical way. If you and—"

"No," she says sharply. "I already told you, nothing will change. We will destroy your vessel. I would say I'm sorry, but I am not." She pushes him, just hard enough for him to step back, and activates the force field.

She looks at him for a moment longer before turning on her heel and walking resolutely away.

_Uhura __*_

"Hey, you three! You're not authorized to take that shuttlecraft." A security guard jogs up to Nyota, Pavel, and Sulu. "No one has informed me that you're authorized to board a shuttlecraft. I'm going to have to stop you."

Uhura smiles pleasantly at the man. "No, it's alright. Commander Spock gave us the order."

He narrows his eyes. "Mister Spock isn't even available right now. I don't believe he did."

Nyota looks to Chekov and Sulu. Within that moment, the redshirt pulls out his phaser and hits Chekov with its beam. Uhura flips her own phaser to stun and fires at the man, only to have him dodge it.

"We should make a run for it," she tells Sulu. She hits the security officer, this time kicking him where it counts. Then she grabs Chekov's right arm, Sulu grabs his left, and they drag the unconscious young man toward the nearest shuttlecraft. As soon as they have him in, the officer is back, trying to stop them.

"You don't understand the situation," the man insists. "Don't go to the shuttlecraft!"

"Sorry about this," Sulu says as he hits him with a phaser beam. He goes to drag the man out of the shuttle bay as Uhura prepares to open the bay doors.

"Ready, Mr. Sulu," she calls.

"Just a second," he says he seals the doors back to the _Enterprise. _As soon as he's back in the shuttlecraft, Uhura opens the bay doors. They fold open with the smooth operation of new machinery, which, given the damage the previous ones had taken, they are.

"Are you sure we should leave Mister Spock? And Dr. McCoy?" she asks Sulu before he directs the shuttlecraft out.

Sulu hesitates. "Yes. We have to go get the captain."

Uhura nods. "Let's go then."

_Spock __*_

Spock is assessing his logical alternatives. They're summing up to be nearly nonexistent. If Spock's going to get Dr. McCoy out of the situation of being killed, he needs to get out of this room quickly. Seeing as the nearest vent is outside of the room, not inside, he doesn't have that option. There's nearly nothing in this smaller room, not even a chair.

He stands at the doorway, examining the electricity generator again. It seems to be flawless.

In a sudden, crashing wave of emotion, Spock turns and slams his fist into the wall, causing it to dent. His hand leaves a smear of dark green in the dent and the pain that flares up in his arm takes about a minute to settle. He feels this strong emotion, this anger, so powerfully he wants to break metal.

_McCoy is going to die and I have nothing to do. What will Jim do when he finds out that I am the cause of his friend's death…?_

Spock takes a deep breath. This train of thought is illogical. He must focus and think about his situation carefully. As James Kirk would probably tell himself, there is no such thing as a no-win scenario.

This is somehow harder to believe when Spock is ever-presently aware that he died only a few months ago.

"Spock?"

The Vulcan looks up to see Christine Chapel in the hallway, looking confused.

"Why are you in there?"

He gives himself about two seconds to continue calming down before he says, "I was locked here by two people who are trying to control this ship. It would be most…convenient if you would release me."

Chapel nods and clicks the button. The electricity goes out and Spock is finally free to go.

"Thank you, Nurse," he says formally. "I will be in your debt."

"Alright," she says hesitantly. "Now what?"

"Now I will go to find Doctor McCoy."

He leaves, setting off down the hall after where he had last seen Lt. Reves take Doctor McCoy. Chapel follows him.

"I'm going to want a better explanation of this later, sir," she says.

"You might not get that for quite some time," he replies.

As he turns the corner, he sees Lt. Reves and the security guard walking down the hall. He mentally swears. If they're out here, that means Dr. McCoy has already been killed…

He shoves past the two startled people and enters the closest room, imagining finding the doctor dead inside.

And yet McCoy is tied to a wall, but standing up and perfectly alive. He looks up in surprise when Spock enters in a rush.

"Doctor," Spock states, his tone almost nearing an exclamation. "You're alive."

McCoy looks the Vulcan up and down with a confused, scrutinizing expression. Seemingly speechless, he only manages to say, "What an illogical thing to say."

Spock smiles a little.

_Kirk __*_

"What am I going to do, Scotty?" Jim pleads, still pacing, but this time in a room inside the mining building.

The Scotsman sets his chin on his hand and looks at the captain. "It might not be as bad as you think. For all you know, it's just an error in communications."

"There are never errors in the communication," Kirk snaps. Scotty recoils slightly, looking surprised and then exasperated. Kirk feels bad. "You're right. It's just the weight of that crew and ship is on my shoulders."

Scotty cocks his head a bit. "I don't think the weight's on you anymore, Captain. I think it's on Mister Spock."

Jim sits down across from Mr. Scott, sighing. "I don't know how I'm supposed to act right now. It's—I'm not completely unfamiliar with the feeling, but that doesn't make it any better."

"I'm sorry, Captain, but we're just going to have to wait it out."

"Captain!" a red-shirted officer says, bursting into the room. "There's a shuttle headed down here. It's from the _Enterprise._"

Kirk lights up and springs out of his chair. He clears his throat and straightens his uniform, then goes out to meet the craft.

The _Galileo _lands smoothly, but only after smacking a few tree branches on the way down. Kirk is quite pleased to see the box-like shuttle, probably more than he ever has been before.

The gray door swings open and Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu exit.

"Captain!" Uhura says happily.

Kirk smiles and walks up to the trio. His expression doesn't last. "How's the ship? Where is it? What happened to Mister Spock? And Bones?"

"Calm down, Captain," Uhura says. "We're not entirely sure. The ship isn't in orbit anymore, and we haven't seen Mister Spock and Dr. McCoy."

"What happened?"

"Well…." Mr. Sulu says. "We'll explain what we know on the way there."

"Do you know—" Kirk stops himself before continuing. "Alright. Mr. Scott, find the last member of the landing party and we'll go in the shuttlecraft." Scotty nods and leaves. Jim looks back to the three in front of him. "Where's the _Enterprise_?"

"We don't know," Chekov says. "But we think the instruments can still find it."

_McCoy __*_

"Doctor!" Christine exclaims when she enters the room and sees McCoy. "I didn't know what happened to you."

"Not much," he says as he steps away from the wall. "I was just temporarily abducted."

Christine turns to Spock. "What is going on? I think we have time for explanation now."

The Vulcan shakes his head. "We do not. This ship isn't in its orbit around Alpha-Deci 5 anymore, Nurse. It's on a course to a place where it will be taken apart and, apparently, rebuilt as a machine of war."

"What?" Bones interrupts. "They want to rebuild a Federation starship?"

"As far as I know, Doctor, yes. Now I advise neither of you to continue to ask questions. We have to change the ship's course soon and we only have a small amount of time." He turns and leaves the room.

McCoy looks at Chapel.

"He has a point," she says.

Muttering about Vulcans always getting their way, Bones follows Spock out of the room and down the hall to gather phasers.

_Spock __*_

Dr. McCoy, Nurse Chapel, and Mister Spock enter the bridge with their phasers at the ready. The gray and white room seems surprising empty, with only Lt. Varn, Lt. Reves, and one security guard occupying it.

They have caught the three by surprise, but they aren't unprepared. Reves turns with a phaser pointed at Dr. McCoy and the security officer jumps up from the science officer's station and aims a phaser at Spock.

"Drop the weapon or I'll fire without a second thought," Reves orders the doctor.

McCoy drops the phaser in frustration, but before anyone can move, has tackled Reves to the ground. The red-shirted woman whips her phaser over to point it at the two men, but she doesn't dare fire.

Spock internally curses the doctor's impetuosity, but stays calm and looks back to Lt. Varn. "You are outnumbered," he informs her.

"Not for long," she retorts. "We will be at the station above Beta-Census Two before long, and my people will come to take you away. Then you will be outnumbered, Spock."

Spock raises an eyebrow. "Yes, but in your current situation, you are outnumbered, and therefore have few logical actions to take except that of surrender."

Varn takes a few steps toward him. He keeps his phaser aimed, but doesn't fire. "You are condemning my planet to destruction. If I were to surrender, there would be no hope of survival for our people."

"I am doing no such thing," Spock says coolly. "All I ask is that you take a different approach. Your decisions have been rash and illogical. You could do this more easily, which is what I have been trying to tell you. Take your problem to someone who has more experience. If you rebuild this vessel as the war machine you intend it to be, you could wipe out an entire civilization, which is exactly what you are trying to avoid. You do not realize how powerful this ship actually is."

"We don't have time! Don't you realize that we're cutting things closely already? We can't bring this up with Starfleet because we don't have time!" She looks at him, pausing. "You don't know, do you, Vulcan? You don't know because you don't have emotion. You are trying to accomplish this only by logic, and you can't understand the desperate fear we're feeling. You don't relate to the situation because you are only an inhuman…. How shall I put it? Half-breed?"

Spock stiffens. This woman must understand how to get at him because she has experienced the feeling herself.

"Emotion, Spock," she pleads, sounding less devious now. "Let it out. Stop this trap of logic you have put yourself into and understand that you should help us. You are trying to doom an innocent colony to death. Don't you feel _something _about that?"

He remains silent, his jaw clenched tightly and his gaze focused on the wall behind Michelle Varn.

"Spock," Chapel says quietly from behind him, "you know what she wants. Don't cave to her."

"I know," he says sharply.

"Please help us, Spock," the half-Romulan continues. "Stop allowing yourself to be this stiff, logical, inhuman creature. Let yourself _feel. _You would never regret it. Isn't that what everyone in this crew would want? You could be so much less… alone."

He finally looks at her. "I cannot promote the probable destruction of a foreign species. And I will not abandon the Vulcan part of me for this."

Varn's expression is somewhere between anger and disappointment. She leans forward and snatches Spock's phaser as she says, "Then you would be promoting the destruction of my people." She glares before continuing, "I thought you might be reasonable, but apparently I was wrong. I wanted to spare you, but that will not happen either." Spock is startled to realize that Lt. Varn is not only disappointed, but genuinely bothered that she will have to kill him. Nevertheless, she says to the security guard at her left, "Stop at nothing to kill him. I want all three of them dead before we reach the station." She turns around and refuses to look at him again.

Spock is almost tempted to change his mind. _You are trying to support the wrong side, Spock…_

He finds this emotion stirred up inside him disturbing and difficult to deal with. He knows how to subdue emotion, not face it when it comes…

He's waited too long. The officer to his right swings a punch at his shoulder, preparing to fire her phaser simultaneously. He catches her fist in one hand and snatches the wrist of her phaser hand in the other. This, illogically, leaves him no way to do a neck pinch.

He tightens his grip on her right hand until she winces and drops the phaser. Before moving, she says, "I never thought my position would bring me to fight you, Mister Spock."

"It is not your position that is doing so," he responds.

She catches him off guard by suddenly kicking his leg between the knee and the shin. It's a hard enough kick the Vulcan goes to one knee, but he doesn't let go of the woman's wrists. It's probably because of this that she's able to kick his chest hard enough to send him onto his back. She yanks away from him and goes after her phaser.

He has enough time to stand up and grab her before she can reach it. She tries to turn to attack, but he gets to her neck before she does so. With a simple pinch, her body tightens and she goes unconscious.

_Kirk __*_

The _Enterprise _is within view now. It's nice not to see it half-destroyed. It hits Kirk like a physical wound when his ship is being damaged severely, and it was outstanding that she continued to function even after all the hits she took from the Klingon snake-weapon. Sometimes he thinks the _Enterprise _has a will of her own just to keep working.

"Can you make this thing move any faster?" the impatient captain asks Mr. Sulu.

"Well, yes, sir."

"Give us maximum speed. Uhura, can you contact the transporter room?"

"I tried, sir. The communication seems to still be down."

Kirk isn't sure what they're going to do if they can't be beamed aboard the ship and they can't open the shuttlebay doors. Then he would be in the same situation as he had been on the planet.

It takes more minutes than Jim would like to get to the _Enterprise, _but once they're near the shuttle docking point, Uhura gets through with a communication signal.

"They're saying… they'll open the doors. He's also asking if the captain's with us." Uhura looks at Kirk.

"Well, I'd say he is," he replies with a small smile.

"I'm going to guess that's not the man we met up with on the way out," Chekov says.

"No, he's probably still out cold," Sulu says, somewhat smugly.

Kirk shakes his head at the two of them. "Well, Lieutenant Uhura, tell them to pull us in with a tractor beam."

"Yes sir."

_McCoy __*_

"You couldn't kill me earlier. I don't see why you can now," Bones points out as he's slumped against the wall with a gun that isn't a phaser level to his chest.

"You are… too problematic for our plan," Lt. Reves says. "You have left us no choice but to kill you."

"Go ahead," Bones says, testing the man.

His hand on the weapon doesn't waver, but he doesn't shoot at first. Then he cocks it, almost as though it's an old-fashion Earth pistol, and fires.

McCoy got lucky. As soon as the weapon was prepared, two sounds distracted Reves from his shot. First was the sound of Christine Chapel crying out and the second was the sound of a different gunshot. Reves turned at just the wrong—or right, for McCoy—time and his shot hit the wall to Bones's right.

He doesn't have the strength to make a move as Reves is distracted, but he stays distracted longer than Bones expected.

It was because of Varn. She had attacked Christine, or the other way around, and once the nurse was dealt with, Spock advanced on the Romulan. Varn had shot—with the same weapon Reves has almost-aimed at Bones—at the Vulcan and hit him, apparently on the right arm. But Spock continued to fight, which was why Reves was—legitimately—concerned for her.

"It's too late," Bones hears Varn hiss as she ducks Spock's attack. "Look at this," she steps away and clicks the visual on. Bones looks up to it as Reves turns to see as well. Ahead of them, hard to make out but growing larger rapidly, is a dark space station, not unlike the Deep Space stations but more simplistic in design.

"Oh, damn," McCoy says.

This station, which he can see a planet behind as well, is where the _Enterprise _will be destroyed.

_Spock __*_

The bridge doors open behind Spock. He doesn't turn around as he keeps his gaze on Lt. Varn, who he's expecting will make a move.

"Spock."

Spock turns now, hearing Jim's voice. "Jim. How—"

"In a moment," he interjects. "Scotty, go over and check on Chapel. I don't know what's happened, but it looks like she needs it. Chekov, Sulu, help Bones. Keep your phasers set to stun and aimed at these two."

Spock feels a rush of relief hearing the captain order the crew members around. After spending the last 1.37 hours not knowing what to do with himself, much less anyone else, being under Kirk's command is surprisingly pleasing.

He turns to Lt. Varn. "Now," he adds to the situation, "you are outnumbered."

"What happened, Spock?" Jim asks.

The Vulcan turns back to his captain. "That is a rather long story. I hope I will get time later to explain it." He pauses, then says, "Captain—" But stops himself.

"Yes?" Kirk asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Spock clears his throat. "We are nearing the station where our vessel will be destroyed. We must—"

"_Destroyed?_" Kirk says, appalled. "What are they planning?"

"They intend to take apart your ship and rebuild it as a warship so that they can win a war against an alien species," he explains, doing his best to get it all in one small sentence.

"Well—I—then," Kirk stammers. "So…we need to get out of here."

"You won't," Varn says suddenly.

Kirk raises his eyebrows. "Why not?"

She smirks. "Try it."

He frowns and goes to the navigation controls. Spock watches him, concerned at what the woman meant by that.

"Damn it," Jim swears. "I can't change our course. We're headed straight to docking at that station, and I can't see how to change it."

Spock goes up to him and examines the controls. He attempts to adjust them, using his left arm instead of his right—he's holding his right arm to his side, the pain still informing him that it's broken—but nothing receives his commands.

"What's wrong with it?" Jim asks.

"I do not know. I can only assume they have shut off all controls that could alter our course. It would take a considerable amount of time to isolate where, precisely, the problem is and even after that, it would take time to reactivate the controls. It seems we _will _dock at that station. We hardly have another choice."

_Kirk __*_

"Tell me how to fix the controls," Kirk demands.

The half-Romulan shakes her head. "I will not."

"I'm the one with the weapon," he reminds her warningly.

She remains resolute.

Jim, starting to get worried, goes to the man. He aims his phaser at him and says, "Tell me how to get my ship off this course."

"We're trying to save our people, Captain. To you it probably seems as though we aren't even sure that we need your ship, but we don't have the same technology our enemies do. We can't fight them. No. The ship must dock."

"Jim," McCoy says from Kirk's left. "You're not going to get them to say anything."

"Bones," Jim says, turning to him. "How are you?"

"Well enough. I'd be more worried about the damn Vulcan if I were you."

Kirk at first is taken aback by the 'damn' Vulcan comment, but he realizes that it might be because Bones is…dare he think it… _worried _about Spock. Jim glances behind him at Spock, who still has his right arm held to his side and is looking weary. It makes him wonder what the stubborn Vulcan was going to say to him earlier.

"We need to get out of here, Bones," he tells him worriedly.

"You think I don't know that?" he says, irritated.

"McCoy," Kirk insists, pulling the doctor to the corner of the room, "I don't know what I'm going to do if they dock the _Enterprise _at this station."

"Jim, I don't know what you're going to do either."

A small generator of panic triggers in his mind. _No, Jim, you're the captain. You can't panic._

"Well, we need to find a way to get the navigation under control," he says with false composure.

"That would be a place to start, Captain, but I do not believe the most obvious manner of accomplishing that is also the most efficient."

"Hi, Spock," McCoy mutters with a touch of sarcasm.

Jim looks to his first officer. "What are you suggesting, Spock?"

"My only point is that you shouldn't try to change the course from here. The most logical alternative would be to access it from another part of the ship."

"I see the idea," Kirk says slowly. "You mean somewhere more directly connected to the helm."

Spock cocks his head, looking up to the visual. "That would probably be ideal, although I am questioning whether we have time."

Jim follows the Vulcan's gaze. They're at the space station now, and the _Enterprise _is slowing as she slides into a docking point.

He cusses. "You're right. We don't have time." The panic that was rising in his chest leaps forward now. "Spock, what do I do?" he says, rushed.

"Jim," Spock says slowly, putting a hand on the captain's arm. "Think about it."

Kirk looks up to him. "What do you mean? What am I supposed to do, Spock?"

"Evacuate the _Enterprise,_" he suggests gently.

He stares at him in shock. "Evacuate? I can't leave the ship—"

"You have the choice. It's the ship or the crew."

"I can't leave her—my ship. They're going to destroy it. A Starfleet captain can't walk away from his ship knowing that."

"I'm sorry, Jim. All I am saying is that you could get the crew out, before it is too late."

Jim looks between his friend's eyes and forces himself to face the truth. "You're right. That's the best thing for the crew." He pats Spock's shoulder and walks to his chair. "Lieutenant Uhura, activate red alert. We're evacuating the _Enterprise. _We need to get as many members as possible into the shuttlecraft and send them back to Starbase 6. I have a feeling no one is going to try to stop us." He looks at Lt. Varn to see her reaction to it all. Strangely, she's looking at Mister Spock and smiling. The Vulcan seems to be unaware of her expression, or choosing to be ignorant of it.

The ship comes to a complete halt. Looking up to the screen, Kirk can tell that the docking port was made for a starship; it's massive, with two arm-like structures stretching out on either side of the_ Enterprise _and several huge contraptions that will, presumably, assist in taking the ship apart.

"A communication signal is coming in, Captain," Uhura informs him. "They say… to lower our shields and allow the transporter to be used."

Kirk closes his eyes. "Mr. Chekov, take down the shields."

"But sir—"

"Just do it," he says, opening them again.

Chekov follows the order.

Kirk can't help but look at Spock and McCoy, perhaps for reassurance. Spock nods slowly. Bones just has a tight, unreadable expression.

"All personnel boarding the shuttlecraft," Uhura says.

Jim's jaw tightens. "Alright. Clear the bridge."

"But sir," Scotty protests, "you can't just leave the ship—"

"Mr. Scott," Spock says. "I do not advise you to express your concern now."

Kirk is grateful for Mister Spock's interruption. The last things he needs right now are second thoughts.

Mr. Sulu, who has not been at his post but instead keeping a phaser on Varn and Reves, escorts them out. Chekov and Scotty leave together with Christine and the redshirt officers, while Uhura, Spock, and McCoy stay behind.

"I guess this is the end of the _Enterprise,_" Lieutenant Uhura says sadly.

Jim swallows hard. "It seems that way, doesn't it?"

"Could you have it any other way, Captain?" Spock asks.

Considering this, Jim shakes his head. "Anything else would mean the deaths of my crew."

"Come on, Jim," McCoy says from his position at the turbolift. "We should go."

He nods and gestures for the three of them to go. He follows them into the turbolift.

_Spock __*_

The shuttlecraft releases itself from the side of the USS _Enterprise, _gradually drifting away from the larger ship. Jim is watching the screen with his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows tipped upward toward the middle, an obvious sign of his anguish in the situation.

"I can't believe I just gave up my ship," he says, only to Spock.

Spock has little to say. There is a part in him, within the depth of the layers of his conscious thought that is glad that Lieutenant Varn will get her wish. Her colony, at least, can survive an attack from the alien species and win, if not prevent, a war.

But the method is wrong. Spock does not like to think of the damage the starship could inflict when rebuilt, and what humans will use the war machine for once they discover its power.

And he understands Kirk's pain. Besides losing the _Enterprise, _he probably won't get another starship of his own for some time.

Knowing the human fondness for visual contact of their prized possessions, Spock says to his captain, "You may see it again, Captain."

Jim scoffs bitterly. "As an unfamiliar warship, nothing like the star cruiser I know."

Spock sighs. "That is true."

"Are you going to let me look at that, Vulcan?" Dr. McCoy says, appearing at Spock's left and gesturing to his right arm.

"It would be logical for me to do so," he says, offering his broken arm to the doctor.

As McCoy tends to Spock, he says to the captain, "Are you alright, Jim?"

Kirk has his right hand up against the screen, where the image of the helpless _Enterprise _grows smaller and smaller.

"If you want the truth? I don't know."


	2. Part II - The Return Journey

_Kirk _

It's been more than two Earth days since the shuttlecrafts left their mother ship at the space station above Beta-Census 2. Foolishly, the smaller ships have little food preserves and the crews aboard each of them haven't been able to contact each other or Starfleet. The communication is down for unknown reasons; they've assumed there was too much interference from something in the Beta-Census station.

James Kirk is hungry. Second of all, he's angry. Third, he's unsure of what Starfleet is going to do when they find out what happened to the USS _Enterprise. _

Luckily—or perhaps unluckily—for him, Starbase 6 is within view and the shuttlecraft will dock within minutes.

"Well Jim, here we go," Bones says to him with little emotion.

"Here we go indeed. Do you think they're going to charge us with anything?"

The doctor draws back slightly. "They'd damn well better not. We haven't done anything wrong, Jim. I think that's what you're forgetting."

Kirk has the basis of an argument, but he decides not to make it.

The starbase which the crew of the _Enterprise _had gotten to know so well must realize they're here. A tractor beam has locked onto each craft and is pulling it in to a docking position.

"They will not reduce you from your status as captain," Spock informs Kirk.

He turns around to look at the Vulcan. "I know. I'm not as worried about that as you two think I am."

"You're worried about that ship, aren't you?" Bones asks.

Kirk has an urge to say 'bingo', but decides against it. "I'm not worried as much as…." He can't find the right word. He has too much pride to admit a lot about his feeling toward leaving the _Enterprise, _so he would rather drop the subject. "Leave it, Bones. Alright?"

The doctor shrugs. "Fine. At this point I'm more interested in talking about what we're going to do down there. Like eat."

"I had forgotten about the human characteristic of being easily influenced by the desire for food," Spock comments.

"I'd like to talk about eating too, Bones," Jim says, ignoring his first officer. "But I'm afraid we're going to have to discuss a few things with the Starfleet authority first."

The shuttlecraft has landed successfully and the door is opened by a bay docking officer who ushers the group of them out. No one says anything, despite the questions undoubtedly going through their minds, until they're inside the station itself.

They are greeted by an empty hallway. Kirk assumes he is supposed to go to Starfleet Command to report what happened to the _Enterprise, _but he's surprised no one is there to meet them.

"James Kirk."

He looks to the other end of the hall. Two men, both admirals, are approaching him and the others.

"Admirals," he says with a respectful nod, not knowing either of their names.

"I'm Admiral Exoden," the tall, older one on the right says. "Where's your ship? You weren't supposed to arrive back here yet, and we haven't gotten a message from you for a few days."

"That's a long story. We would have to explain it somewhere more convenient than a hallway."

"Very well, Captain, but we are supposed to have something to tell the rest of Starfleet as soon as we get back, so a short description would be appreciated."

Jim takes a deep breath. "Two new officers I had aboard the _Enterprise, _named Michelle Varn and Weslen Reves, were from a colony on Beta-Census Two. Their colony is trying to win a war and they wanted the USS _Enterprise _to do it. When they set the course to a space station, we couldn't get it off and were forced to evacuate."

He has a feeling he's going to have to give that description many times.

Admiral Exoden takes a moment to respond. "Accepted, Captain. I will relay the information to the authority and we will consider this in more detail in the morning. For now, you and your crew can find quarters and stay in this base."

"Thank you, Admiral."

_McCoy _

"You know that if I stay in captain position, they'll assign me to a different ship. A ship that isn't the _Enterprise. _They might put me in an _Excelsior _Class ship, or an _Intrepid _Class."

"I guess I've considered it. I don't like the idea too much either, but it's better than havin' no ship, right?"

"Of course." Jim lies on his back, his arm behind his head. "I never thought the journey to go where no one has gone before would lead to the destruction of my ship."

McCoy sighs. He's getting slightly tired of the fact that all Kirk can talk about is his ship. He's wondering if it would be better to go talk to the _Vulcan. _

"Jim, stop thinking about it. You're making this too hard on yourself."

"I'm not making it anything. I have no control over this." His tone isn't sharp or impatient; he's merely stating the facts.

"Well, Jim," Bones says after a moment of silence. "I'm about ready to turn in. You?"

"Same," he answers simply.

"Maybe they'll talk about reassigning us tomorrow."

"Probably," he says.

Bones stands up and heads for the door. "G'night, Jim."

"Good night, Bones," Jim replies.

Out in the hall, McCoy encounters Mister Spock.

"What are you doing?" he asks the Vulcan, who seems to be in a deep train of thought.

Spock looks up to him. "I was intending to speak with the captain."

"Jim's going to bed." He jerks his head to the left, indicating he wants Spock to follow him as he heads back to his quarters. Spock glances back at the captain's door before walking after McCoy.

"Jim seems pretty distracted ever since he left that ship, doesn't he?" Bones asks.

The first officer pauses, taking a moment to respond. Bones interprets this differently than Kirk probably would.

"Oh, right. You Vulcans aren't perceptive enough to realize something like that. On that subject, I was going to ask you how you feel about losing the _Enterprise. _But that was a stupid question. You feel nothing at all, do you, Vulcan?" Bones is actually aware that what he's saying is far from nice, and that Jim would get after him if he were here, but sometimes he can't help himself. And he wants to see Spock's reaction.

Spock stops walking with a sigh. McCoy stops and turns to look at him.

"You realize, Doctor, that you bring up this subject very frequently, correct?"

"Well…yes."

"Do you realize that I might not be interested in having this conversation?"

Bones isn't quite sure how to answer. Usually the Vulcan just takes the insults, not tries to stop him.

"Forget it, Spock," he says, feeling a bit bad. "I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting." He waits for him to respond, but gets nothing. Rolling his eyes, McCoy leaves Spock standing there and retires to his quarters.

_Kirk _

The meeting with Starfleet turns out to be longer than Kirk would like. The entire bridge crew was required to attend, and having Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, Scotty, Lt. Uhura, Spock, and the captain all recount what happened in various levels of detail can take a very long time. The relief Jim gets before the meeting is over is that now Starfleet knows enough about the Beta-Census 2 dilemma to resolve it. It gives him hope, that just maybe, they can get to the _Enterprise _before it's reconstructed. Unfortunately, the back of his mind is telling him that they've already started to take the ship apart.

"We will gather the information for your reassignment within the next few days," Admiral Exoden says. "This may surprise you, or you may have already considered it, but more than likely, you will not all be appointed to the same ship."

Jim exchanges glances with Spock.

"Sir," he protests, "surely it wouldn't be difficult to get the bridge crew assigned together? And the medical officers?"

"More so than you might think. We don't have a ship right now that has the entire command crew absent."

Kirk shakes his head slightly, then nods in acceptance, knowing there's little to do.

"Any more statements to be made?" one of the officials asks.

No one replies.

"Very well. Meeting adjourned."

There's the sound of chairs sliding on the floor as everyone stands up to leave. Kirk keeps his place, holding onto McCoy's and Spock's arms to keep them from leaving.

"Spock, what's the likelihood of all three of us getting assigned to the same ship?" he says once the others have left.

Spock cocks his head in the gesture he makes when calculating something. "Eight point three percent."

Jim sighs. "Well, there you go. We probably won't get to be in the same ship. If not, we will probably only see each other about once an Earth month, most likely less."

Bones nods. "That isn't great. We can only hope that eight percent happens."

"Eight point three, Doctor," Spock corrects him.

"Oh, leave it, Spock," he retorts.

"I suppose we'll find out tomorrow," Kirk says to keep the two from arguing. "Or possibly later today. Until then, we can go back to our quarters and pretend nothing happened."

He starts to leave the room. Bones and Spock follow, but he lets the two go ahead and leaves the door to close behind them.

He sighs and turns around, leaning against the door and staring at the wall opposite him. He loves being a starship captain, but he can't imagine traveling the universe without Spock and McCoy at his side.

"Jim."

Kirk pushes away from the door and looks to his right. He can't help but smile when he sees who said his name.

Christopher Pike is standing at the other doorway to the room, looking neither happy nor displeased, as usual.

"I heard what happened," Pike says as Kirk walks over to him.

"Quite frankly, I'm tired of talking about it," Jim admits.

"Well, you're not done until you've talked to me," he says. "How about a drink?"

_Pike _

As usual, the bar is rowdy and smells of alcohol and smoke, with the quiet music from the corner being nearly drowned out by other noises.

"You know, there's more to a bar than women and beer, Jim," Pike says, watching the younger man eye a blond woman a few seats away.

Jim looks over to him. "There is?"

He hides his amusement, saying, "When you're not alone, yes."

Jim doesn't respond and merely stares into his half-full glass.

"You really liked that ship, didn't you?" Pike asks, knowing the answer.

"Do I really need to answer that?" he says, taking a swig of his beer and glancing back to the blond woman.

"You did the right thing by letting it go, Jim. You saved your crew, and now Starfleet can act as necessary to deal with whatever violence could arise at Beta-Census Two."

"My crew," the captain repeats, almost bitterly. "They won't be my crew much longer, Admiral. I probably won't get reassigned with Spock, much less the rest of the crew."

"Listen, I know this is stressful for you, but I'll see what I can talk Starfleet into as far as getting you your crew. Right—"

"You will?" he says hopefully, his eyes lighting up as though he were a decade younger than he actually is.

"I'll try," Christopher reminds him. "That doesn't mean I'll succeed. Right now, you're just going to have to buck up and deal with what you have. It could have turned out a lot worse."

"That's true," Kirk agrees, draining the rest of his beer.

"The _Enterprise _was a great ship. She served me well, and clearly did the same for you. But you'll find another. There are other ships in our fleet and you'll learn to appreciate whichever you're assigned to."

"Thank you," Jim says, something Pike can't remember hearing him say quite honestly before.

"Well, I can't stay, Jim. Admirals have more work to do than captains, I must admit. You can stay here." He stands up from his barstool and says, "Enjoy yourself." He has started to walk away when he decides to say, "But I advise you leave before you do something irresponsibly stupid."

_Kirk _

It's about when Kirk gets back from the bar, when afternoon would touch evening—were it Earth—that the doors to the captain's quarters open to reveal a young Starfleet ensign. She's holding the small, transparent screen that will contain Kirk's reassignment.

"Captain Kirk?" she says as he comes to the door.

"That would be I."

"Uh, I have the information of the ship you are appointed." The girl seems nervous talking to him, but he's not quite sure why. "Sir," she adds.

"Yes, go on," he says, smiling slightly to try to make her feel more comfortable. It doesn't seem to work. Regardless of the woman's reaction to him, his mind is leaping at the possibilities of his reassignment. He hopes, beyond caring what class ship he gets or anything else, that he's there with Spock and McCoy.

"You are assigned the USS _Encounter_," the ensign reads from the screen. She looks up. "NCC-2740. It's a _Constitution_ Class ship. Its construction was completed not long ago, if I remember correctly."

"Thank you," he says. "Do you have any others' assignments on there?"

"Yes."

"Can you find the names Leonard McCoy, Spock, and Nyota Uhura?"

She looks back to her device and scrolls through a few. "Yes. Leonard McCoy is assigned to the USS _Sentinel. _Nyota Uhura is assigned to the USS _Encounter_. I don't have a Spock on here. Anything else, sir?"

"Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, and Pavel Chekov."

"Chekov, Pavel… USS _Encounter. _Hikaru Sulu is appointed to the USS _Triton. _No Montgomery Scott."

"Alright. That's all I need. Thank you."

She smiles anxiously and leaves.

The door closes behind her. Jim stares at it, not focusing on it at all, and says, "Damn it."

_Spock_

Spock is attempting to get his mind off of reassignment. He's telling himself that he should not care if he's appointed to a ship different from James Kirk's, but he knows that isn't true. He actually has a hard time imagining being anyone's first officer but Kirk's, nor does he want to imagine it.

Spock considers the chance of actually never seeing Jim again after they part ways—that is, if they end up on separate starships. It is certainly possible, in a galaxy this size and an organization as wide-spread as the Federation. Honestly, the idea makes him want to quit Starfleet altogether, and yet he knows that if he were to get a different ship from Captain Kirk, he would accept his duty, say his farewells, and continue as whoever's first officer he became.

The doors to his room open. "The damn eight percent didn't happen, Spock," Jim says as he takes a step into the room and leans against the wall.

Spock raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"I didn't get reassigned with Bones."

Spock is unsure what to say—a situation he doesn't like, but ends up in a lot around humans. In his fluency with words in such situations, he says, "It was eight point three percent, Captain."

Kirk sighs. "Irrelevant. I'm not assigned with Bones, Spock! I guess you don't relate to that a lot, but you still understand it."

"I assume the doctor knows?"

"Yes. We talked. He'll be on the _Sentinel _and he won't be terribly pleased about it_. _I'm now captain of the USS _Encounter._" He shakes his head. "That doesn't sound right at all. 'James T. Kirk of the USS _Enter—Encounter._' I can't even say it right when I'm _trying _to."

Spock allows himself a moment to be curious as to what it would be like to let emotion show so easily. Make it so obvious and open that he's angry, or confused, or upset, or even cheerful. The thought actually evokes a level of discomfort in him.

Kirk tightens his jaw, as though he's holding back words, then says suddenly, "I really want to be on the same ship as you, Spock."

It takes the Vulcan a moment to realize why saying that seemed to be hard for him. But he sometimes forgets that even humans can find emotion hard to put into words.

He wonders whether or not now is a time to let his emotional guard down, but considering what he has just thought about it, he only says, "That makes sense. We have been on many missions together, and it is natural for a human to feel more comfortable near to those he is accustomed to being around. You'll eventually feel otherwise, Jim."

Kirk closes his eyes for a moment, as though embarrassed or amused, then opens them, saying, "Spock, no. That's not what I'm talking about. You know that. I mean… I mean you're my friend, and despite what Bones says about it, you return that feeling."

Spock supposes it is slightly futile to hide emotion around someone who already knows what he's feeling, but he sees little reason to change now. "You are right, Captain. But I'll hold to what I said: you will eventually feel otherwise."

"Well, anyway," Kirk says more brightly, "let's assume we do get assigned to the same ship. It's a _Constitution _Class, so I imagine it won't be too hard to get used to. We'll probably be put on the same sorts of missions as before, so it won't be _that _different without the _Enterprise._"

"One would assume."

Jim smiles. "Why are you so quiet, Spock?"

He's rather caught by the question aimed directly at him and, depending how he decides to answer, his thoughts. It takes him several seconds to respond. "I—I don't know, Captain."

Kirk chuckles. "I figured you would say that."

The door opens behind the captain and he turns around as Spock stands up.

"Mister Spock?" asks the man in the doorway.

Jim jerks his head over toward Spock.

Spock goes up to the door and Kirk stands aside for him. "Yes?"

"I have your reassignment, sir." Spock notices Kirk's right hand clench into a fist in anticipation. The man continues. "You are assigned to the USS _Triton._"

_Kirk _

"I'm impressed, actually," the man says absentmindedly as he scrolls through the list to look at other names. "There's been a lot of controversy about you, sir, being assigned to the USS _Encounter. _I'm surprised they chose the _Triton _instead."

Undoubtedly, Kirk decides, that would be Pike's argument. He's grateful that the admiral tried to convince Starfleet to put Spock in a different position, but aggravated that he didn't succeed.

"Very well," Spock says evenly. Kirk is amazed, and utterly unsurprised, that there's isn't a trace of a reaction in Spock's expression.

The man steps away and the doors close. Spock turns to Jim. "That is that, Captain."

"You're going to have to stop calling me that," Kirk says with a hint of forlornness in his voice. "I may be _a _captain, but I'm not _your _captain anymore."

Spock looks to the floor and says nothing.

In the desperation of getting out of a rather awkward situation, Kirk says, "Alright, well, we'll probably set off tomorrow. We might as well leave the goodbyes for tomorrow and turn in."

Spock nods, again, saying nothing. Kirk is beginning to wonder what's on his mind.

_Captain's Log stardate 2373.2. This is my first entry from the USS _Encounter. _I have not actually seen the ship yet, but will shortly after this log is completed and I have met with the members of my old crew one more time. My first mission aboard the _Encounter _will be to investigate the Beta-Census 2 colony and determine if anything should be done there. I will be taking most of the journey alongside Thomas Drakely of the USS _Venture.

Kirk hands off the recording device and continues to the place he and the bridge crew decided to meet.

He sees the medley of blue, yellow, and red uniforms as he approaches them and can't help but smile sadly. For some reason—probably his being a captain—they have all been waiting for him, and are talking amongst themselves until Scotty speaks.

"Captain! You're a bit late, you know."

Jim realizes, in a moment of stupidity, that he had never asked again for what ship Scotty was assigned to. "Mr. Scott, what ship—"

"The USS _Encounter,_" he says, beaming.

Kirk grins, but the expression fades as he turns to Mr. Sulu, McCoy, and Spock. "I suppose this is goodbye, then."

"It's been a great pleasure being your lieutenant, Captain," Sulu says. "I hope we get to work together again in the future."

"I do too," Kirk says quietly, patting Sulu's shoulder. He turns to McCoy. "I'm going to miss you, Bones."

McCoy looks somewhat surprised, not as though he didn't know that, but more as though he doesn't know how to respond. "Well, Jim. Yes. We'll meet up again before long, I'm sure. I'll be working with Christine, at least, but it won't be the same without you."

"Thanks, Bones. I have a feeling I'll be hesitant to meet my new medical officer."

"At least I won't have a captain who's so damn accident-prone," Bones points out with a slightly amused expression. "I might get a little free time."

Kirk smiles, knowing the doctor doesn't really mean it.

Now it's Spock. Jim has been dreading his farewell with Spock, just because he feels like he won't get enough of a reaction out of the Vulcan for it to feel genuinely final. And yet, he doesn't want this to feel like the end. He just doesn't want remember a failure of a conversation with his best friend right before they part ways, probably for almost a year.

"Spock," is all he says at first, wanting the Vulcan to start the conversation for once.

"We have served together for quite some time, Capt—Jim."

"I know," Kirk says. "I grew up never quite finding my place. Being on the _Enterprise _with you, Bones, the rest of my crew… that changed it. The feeling of solidity never left after that. I hope I don't lose it now."

Spock stands, silent. Kirk assumes he's unsure of what to say after an emotional statement like that. Trying to change the subject, he says, "You've been so quiet lately, Spock. What's on your mind?"

"I would rather not discuss it here," he says without looking at Jim.

"Well, we're not going to get another chance, are we?" He takes Spock's arm and drags him away from the others. He knows he should probably be reporting to his new ship by now, but he doesn't want to rush away from any members of his old crew. "What is it, Spock?"

"I assure you, Captain, it is quite irrelevant. I have merely been considering something. It should not be a concern."

"Spock…." Kirk sighs. "Friends confide in each other, you know," he says, trying to tempt the Vulcan into talking. "Even if it feels strange at first."

"Captain," Spock says, his subtle expression suggesting he would like to not be in this situation, "I've been considering Doctor McCoy's words."

_Oh, no. _"When?"

As Spock begins talking, his tone starts to reveal that he's actually quite aggravated that he's going to admit this, but he speaks anyway. "The night we returned to this base. McCoy acted as though he wanted to speak with me in the hall, and yet one of the first things he brought up was that Vulcans are unperceptive in human emotion… and most of anything else. He also said, as he has before, that we do not feel anything. I know that to be quite untrue, but I have been pondering what he said ever since."

_Damn you, Bones. You think _Vulcans_ are unperceptive? _"What, is he beginning to convince you you don't feel?"

"No, Captain. It is more that I don't want…. I am beginning to not want to seem that way." Kirk notices that Spock's dialogue is getting steadily more formal, which he interprets to be because he's uncomfortable. "I have had the choice, many times throughout my life, to choose to be human instead of Vulcan, and yet I have treaded the thin line in between. It is an interesting privilege to be in both worlds, but also a difficulty."

Jim is silent for a long moment. He doesn't know how to tell Spock that it's a decision only he can make, because he knows Spock is already aware of that.

"Why have I chosen to make this emotionless mask, Jim? Why have I chosen to be Vulcan?" The questions are not delivered in a pleading way, but the expression in Spock's eyes suggests that this struggle goes far beyond Bones's words.

"Spock, I…." He trails off, not wanting to irritate the Vulcan by saying something exceptionally unhelpful. "Spock—"

"James Kirk! Captain," a woman calls from across the room. She jogs up to him and Spock. Judging by the fact that she's wearing blue and has two silver bands across each of her sleeves, Jim guesses that she's his new first officer, Commander Emara.

The sharp-faced woman continues, "The USS _Encounter _has docked and everyone is aboard already. We are waiting for you, Captain. There's another ship docking in just a few minutes, so we need to leave her soon."

She stands, waiting. Kirk knows he isn't going to get to finish his conversation with Spock. Although the woman waiting for him _would _be nice, it's going to keep him from any privacy with the Vulcan.

Kirk would like to cuss, but doesn't to keep the impression he creates for professional purposes. "It appears I need to go," he says, turning back to Spock. "I guess… bye, Spock."

"Goodbye, Jim," Spock says, retaining emotionlessness again, probably more out of habit than choice. And yet despite it, Kirk can tell the Vulcan is unhappy, and he can't help but return that dissatisfaction with Starfleet's decision.

Kirk gives a slight wave to the other two friends he's leaving behind, and a small expression directed at Bones.

Then he gestures for Uhura, Scotty, and Chekov to follow him and First Officer Emara as they head to the USS _Encounter. _He tells himself, as he walks away, not to look back.

_McCoy _

Bones watches Jim, Lt. Uhura, Mr. Chekov, and Scotty as they disappear around the corner of the long hallway. He hopes it isn't too long until he sees Jim again. Or the others, for that matter.

Mister Spock is looking after the departing crew with a slightly raised eyebrow, more as though he's thinking about integers instead of his separation from Jim.

"Well, Mister Spock, it looks like this a goodbye between us too."

Spock turns to him. "Indeed, Doctor."

McCoy tries not to get exasperated by the Vulcan's emotionless delivery of the line. "It's been a… interesting experience going on missions with you," Bones observes. "You're a good first officer. I think, uh…." He breaks off, not quite willing to say what he was planning to. "I hope we'll meet up again soon."

"Returned, Doctor. Now I really must go. The USS _Triton _was scheduled to leave this station at the same time as the _Encounter. _I would prefer not to be late."

Bones resists the urge to sigh at Spock's insufferable sense of duty. He considers saying more, but doesn't get to as, with a slight nod, Spock leaves for the docking station of the _Triton. _

Mr. Sulu looks at McCoy. Then he shrugs and starts after Spock.

McCoy is left standing there, alone, in the middle of the long, cement-floored hallway. He envies Kirk for getting to have Scotty, Chekov, and Uhura all on his ship with him. For Bones, it's just Christine.

He goes to the turbolift that will take him the USS _Sentinel. _He knows Chapel will be there waiting for him, but the thought of a captain other than Kirk commanding him is somewhat depressing. Or, he can't help but admit, a first officer other than Spock.

The ship is in the _Sovereign _Class, with a dark gray hull, a deflector plate attached almost directly to the saucer, and two thin warp nacelles. It's a lot longer than the _Enterprise, _though not as wide. The massive letters and numbers on the saucer read: NCC-17331. Its body is directly connected to the saucer, which makes it look very different from the NCC-1701. Strange though it is, it seems to Bones like a more… formal ship, less homely. Not, he tries to tell himself, that he was particularly emotionally attached to the _Enterprise. _He realizes that's a kind of Vulcan-ish thing to think.

The communicator on his belt beeps. He grabs it and flips it open. "Doctor McCoy here."

"We're prepared to beam you in, sir," says an unfamiliar voice.

"I'm ready," he replies.

_Kirk _

He has to admit it: the USS _Encounter _is a beautiful ship. He can tell it's new as well; its hull is a light gray, like the _Enterprise_'s had been, but with a more metal-like sheen. It's smaller than his old ship, probably a middle-weight cruiser. Everywhere that on the _Enterprise_ was blue, (the lights along the warp nacelles, the deflection generator, the lighting around the saucer) is a light green. Kirk notices, upon sight, so many tiny differences between the two ships; the support pylons are shorter, the saucer is very slightly more oval shaped, it has more window screens, and so on. It makes him realize just how well he knew his beloved _Enterprise._

The interior of the ship, when he reaches it, is so strikingly similar to the _Enterprise _that he gets a sensation of nostalgia. The _Encounter_ has new technology the other ship didn't, which makes Kirk bitter for some reason. Visually attractive and technologically advanced as this ship may be, it is not the _Enterprise, _nor will it ever be.

Jim tries to keep Pike's words about growing fond of a different ship in his head, but he keeps finding things in the _Encounter _that he doesn't like very much.

"It's an honor to have you as our captain," his first officer says as they exit the transporter room and head for the bridge. "We have heard a lot about your experience and skill aboard the USS _Enterprise._"

Kirk nods, not entirely sure what to say.

"I admit I know very little about you," Emara says, "but I think you'll grow to like this ship."

"It is quite impressive," he says honestly, though his tone suggests more than he's actually feeling.

They enter the bridge and start to take their respective positions. Thankfully, despite the fact that this ship is newer than the _Enterprise, _all of the stations are in the same location.

Kirk sits down in the captain's chair, which is stiff from lack of use, and prepares for the journey to Beta-Census 2.

"Reverse impulse engines, Mr. Sul—oh. Uh, I'm sorry, what's your name?" _Damn habit._

The man turns around. Jim is surprised to see that he has pointed ears and slanted eyebrows. "Mr. Senvik, sir."

"Ah, you… must be a Vulcan."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, reverse impulse power, Mr. Senvik."

_Uhura _

Nyota listens to the captain record a log as she continues familiarizing herself with the controls on the _Encounter._

_Captain's Log stardate 2372.8. The USS _Encounter _is nearing the space station on Beta-Census 2 after our brief rendezvous with the USS _Venture. _We hope that we have arrived before the…before the completion of the reconstructed _Enterprise, _but are also assuming we can deal with the warship if it comes._

__Uhura glances behind her at the visual. She can see the glow of the Beta-Census star, which is now significantly bigger than the other small dots of light on the screen.

While the _Encounter _approaches the solar system at warp speed two, slowing as they continue over the outmost asteroid belt, Uhura thinks back to the conversation she had with Mister Spock just before the captain came up to say farewell to him.

"_It seems ill-fated that we're getting separated now, doesn't it? The others and I will be away from Mr. Sulu and yourself, and all of us will be away from Dr. McCoy." Uhura doesn't really expect a response, or at least not one suggesting what Spock really thinks about the situation._

"_It is hardly ill fate, Lieutenant. I am assigned to my ship, you and the ca—Kirk to yours. It is perhaps more interesting to observe that this may be the last time we are all in one place together."_

_Spock seems distracted, despite his over-technicality in his words, and Nyota wonders why, though she knows she'll never get an answer out of him._

_Regardless of her curiosity, she can't help be smile at his complete Spock-ness. "It was more of a comment, Mister Spock, than an analysis of our future meetings."_

"_I see," he replies, his eyebrows slightly raised, almost as though he were amused. Then he remains silent._

"_Mister Spock," she carries on, not quite willing to let the conversation drop, "do Vulcans desire to see others when they're not around them? I mean… do they miss people?" She thinks of Spock's close—though subtle—friendship with the captain._

_He bristles slightly. "Vulcans are not as terribly different from human as you seem to think. We feel; we just do not show it."_

_Nyota frowns. "I didn't mean to insult you, I was just curious."_

_Spock, seemingly unaware of what she said, is looking surprised. Uhura's not sure why, and isn't entirely willing to ask. But when she sees that Captain Kirk is headed their way, she decides to wrap up the conversation and says, "It was nice having you as our first officer. I think it won't be quite the same without you." She realizes, as if Spock's technicality is wearing off on her, that of course nothing would be the exact same as it was with him as first officer; purely _because _he wasn't first officer. She hopes he doesn't point this out._

"_Thank you, Lieutenant," is all he says._

_It's good enough for her._

Right as Uhura finishes her thought train, something bright flares on the visual. She looks up and sees several small spacecraft lined up in a semicircle near the planet Beta-Census 2. They're vaguely rectangular, just with a pointed front, with two warp engines sticking out parallel to the sides. They're facing another set of spaceships, a fleet of considerably larger ones, though they look more primitive.

"Lieutenant Uhura, open communication with the _Venture._"

She adjusts the frequency of her communication waves and sends them to the USS _Venture, _which is only now passing over the asteroid belt. "Hailing frequency open, sir."

"Captain Drakely," Kirk says, "are you seeing this?"

"Activating visual now," the voice replies. There's a pause, then, "What the…. Is this face-off between this alien species and the Beta-Census colony?"

"It seems that way," the captain replies. "At least that space station seems inactive. Alright, I'm going to try to communicate with the humans in the crafts. Kirk out."

Uhura cocks her head, having never heard the captain say 'Kirk out' to anyone but his crew members, and shuts the frequency off. She supposes he said it because, since he has so few of the crew members he's familiar with aboard the _Encounter _with him, he's willing to just say it to anyone. It reminds her how… out-of-element they are in this ship.

_Kirk _

There's no stand-off between the aliens and the humans' ships anymore; someone started firing, and chaos ensues from it. The small ships made by the inhabitants of Beta-Census 2 are not well equipped for battle. It seems their warp nacelles are particularly prone to blowing up, and they don't have a very large array of weapons. The only thing they have to their advantage is their quantity.

"Uhura, can you open a channel into those ships?" Kirk doesn't turn around to look at her, but can hear the clicking of her switches.

"No, sir. It doesn't seem they can even receive the signals."

"Great," he mutters sarcastically. "I see no point in contacting the aliens; it isn't as though we can just tell them to back off and expect them to do so."

"Not necessarily," Commander Emara contradicts. "You could attempt to threaten them. We do have superior weapons, according to the sensors."

Kirk has to admit she has a good point. "Alright. Lieutenant, open a channel to the alien vessels."

"Channel open, sir."

"You're probably going to have to activate the translator. Universal," he adds. "This is James T. Kirk of the USS _Enter—Encounter. _The USS _Encounter_," he repeats, irritated that he got the name wrong again. "We have two different forms of weaponry that are fully activated, though not aimed on your ships. State your motives in this battle."

A voice comes back, although it comes out slightly garbled at first as the translators start to become active. "These life forms have trespassed in our solar system. They did it long ago, but it was only truly a concern of ours when they took to space once again. We now intend to drive them out. You will not interfere. This is our dispute, not yours." Because of the alien's low-pitched, mechanical voice, there isn't any emotion in its lines, but Jim can guess that they fully anticipate not being interrupted.

He's about to continue, to see if he can't talk any sense into the creature, but just then the _Encounter _shakes from some sort of energy wave.

"Commander Emara, what was that?" he demands, gesturing for Uhura to shut the communication off.

His first officer checks her scanners. "That was a blast from some sort of weapon. It looks like the shot hit the _Venture._"

"Where did it come from?"

"There's another ship directly behind us. It looks like it just came from that space station."

Kirk's breath catches in his throat for just a moment before he swallows it down and orders coolly, "Contact the _Venture _and see what their damage report is, Lieutenant Uhura. Mr. Chekov, opposite degree visual."

The visual flickers to a different view. Behind the two ships, the _Encounter _and the _Venture_, is another ship, a large, bulky mass of dark gray material. It takes Kirk a moment to recognize it.

But he does.

It was the USS _Enterprise._

Except it isn't anymore.

Upon the recognition of the vessel, Jim's hands clench into fists so hard his fingernails dig into his palms and they begin to hurt. He doesn't care. Seeing the _Enterprise _so mutilated and… altered… It's purely infuriating to him. It's like being forced to leave a house, a home, one day, and upon finally getting back… All that's left is a warped skeleton. With six guns added in.

They've kept the _Enterprise's _main build: its saucer, its warp nacelles, and its almost cylindrical body, but have changed almost everything else.

The nacelles have been positioned down on either side of the body, and the front deflector dish has clearly been changed into a giant phaser bank. It's glowing red now, while most of the other numerous guns placed on various places above and below the _Enterprise_'s saucer glow blue.

Considerable bulk has been attached to the saucer and body: large, dark gray plates that aren't completely smooth surround any area that doesn't have a weapon. The words and numbers on the saucer have been covered by such plates, and instead painted there are two letters, a number, and a word in a language Kirk doesn't understand: BC-2 _Lanchekar_.

Captain Kirk is surprised at how much he wants to punch something, break something. He feels like it's entirely his fault that they've ruined the _Enterprise, _and he hates that feeling of blame.

The _Lanchekar _shoots at the _Venture _again. Jim pulls his mind out of his fury at what they've done and realizes: the ship that used to be the _Enterprise _is starting to fire on them. With what he can assume by looking at the warship, it's going to damn near impossible to block a hit from the thing, and damn near impossible to damage it.

_USS _Encounter

The aft phasers are being prepared in the _Encounter, _but the _Venture _is having difficulties from the hit it took to its shield near the shuttle docking bay. The BC-2 _Lanchekar _is powering up its frontal phaser generator, and aiming it at the _Venture. _Meanwhile, the photon torpedoes and disruptor-like weapons on the saucer are beginning to pepper the ship's deflector shield, weakening it by the second.

The command crew of the _Encounter _is trying desperately to get a hit on the _Lanchekar, _attempting to protect the _Venture, _a considerably older ship, but is having no success. The phasers are hitting the larger ship's hull, but it's taking no damage.

The captain inside the _Encounter _is familiar with this feeling. This feeling of helpless uselessness is far from unacquainted with him; that fact just makes the situation no better.

The_ Venture_ has managed to ready its aft torpedo bay and fire at the _Lanchekar. _The bulky warship takes the hit on the front of its saucer, which actually causes some damage. This is a lesson to the _Encounter _and its crew, as it soon sends its own torpedo at that very place. There's a violent and silent explosion and piece of the metal plating around the _Lanchekar_ snaps off into space, revealing the light gray coloring of the USS _Enterprise._

The warship activates its impulse engines. They flare unnecessarily brightly as they attempt to function, then the ship shoots forward, straight for the _Venture _and the _Encounter. _The former deals with this with some amount of expertise, swinging to the side and letting the warship pass. The _Encounter, _with all of its crew members being fairly new to the recently-built starship's controls, is not as fortunate. The captain gives the order for evasive action, but one of the helmsmen is too slow in reacting; the _Lanchekar _crashes into the _Encounter'_s right warp nacelle, leaving a deep, blackened scratch on the new ship's exterior. The war machine takes no damage, hitting the _Encounter_'s saucer as well and rendering one of the decks useless without so much as a scratch to its own hull.

The _Venture _closes in for an attack, but its timing is horrible. It fires its phasers several times, hitting the _Lanchekar_'s rear weapon bay, but accomplishes nothing. The dark ship slowly turns itself around. Finally seeing a tactical advantage it may have, the _Venture _begins to split in two, its saucer separating from its body. The saucer section gets away, but as the warship completes its 180 degree turn, its deflector-plate phaser finishes drawing power and fires on the _Venture_'s body. The entire thing blows up, utterly silent, and sends the three ships around it—one only being a saucer—rocking from the energy blast.

When the flame dies, nothing of the second half of the USS _Venture _remains.

_Chekov _

Chekov goes pale. He has just witnessed, as the rest of the bridge crew has, the destruction of a vessel—or rather, half of one—with a single shot. With one shot, the entire ship was blown up and hundreds of people were killed. The shot wasn't particularly well-aimed, but it was so powerful it destroyed the _Venture_'s body within seconds. Pavel knows instantly that if the _Encounter _is hit anywhere on its hull by those giant phasers, it will be destroyed without a second chance.

Captain Kirk is breathing heavily, probably from stress and apprehension. He's staring at the visual, his expression stiff and unreadable.

Beside Chekov, the Vulcan named Mr. Senvik is calm and unaffected by what just happened. His indecipherable expression, his dark eyes, and his dark hair remind Chekov of Spock. It's only his considerably different features and the fact that he has facial hair that sets him apart.

"Captain," Lt. Uhura says shakily, "should I try to contact the… the _Lanchekar_?"

At first Kirk doesn't answer. He's still watching the screen unwaveringly, where the side of the old USS _Enterprise _and the saucer of the _Venture _are visible. Then he says, pulling himself out of whatever thought train he was in, "Yes. Figure out who's commanding that bastard."

Before Uhura gets the signal open, a hailing frequency enters the _Encounter _from what's left of the _Venture. _

"Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk, do you read me?"

"I hear you, Drakely," Kirk answers.

From what Chekov can tell of the other captain's voice, he's shaken from the deaths of so many of his crew. Chekov can't blame him. He can't imagine feeling like all that blood—figuratively, considering the deaths were instant and probably painless—is on his hands. It reminds him why he doesn't want to be a starship captain.

"Our sensors are telling us it's possible that the ship could be destroyed if we hit it with a phaser beam, right into that—whatever—that used to be the deflector. It might cause an explosion large enough to destroy the entire ship."

Kirk frowns, looking surprised. "I would be hesitant to do that if I were you. You don't know who all is on that ship, and you don't know how big the explosion would be."

"That's the only problem. My science officer and I are assuming that the explosion would be enough to destroy whichever ship is close enough to hit it."

The captain shakes his head, even though Drakely can't see him. "No. Besides, your ship might get blown up before you can even fire. We don't know how long it takes for that phaser cannon to prepare itself."

"Well then I'd better not waste any time. I'm going to try to hit it. I advise you get far away from here. Will you transport as many members of my crew as possible to your ship before I try this?"

"I refuse," Kirk says. Chekov is surprised; he almost feels like the captain is condemning the other crew members to death. But he also realizes Kirk's motive: he thinks that if he refuses to transport the crew, Drakely will decide against his idea.

"Kirk, we don't have another choice. Just get my crew to your ship and let's end this."

"Captain, these people don't need to die," Kirk says firmly. "You can't destroy that entire ship, no matter what the hell they've done to it. You might end up killing not only their whole crew, but yours and possibly mine as well."

Drakely doesn't respond. Instead, the captain's chair beeps. Kirk presses the button to answer and the voice of the female transport officer, whose name Chekov doesn't know, says, "The _Venture _is using our transporter. It looks like they're beaming in twelve people or so."

Kirk hits the button again to shut off the communication. "Don't try this. It's a terrible idea, Drakely," he says insistently. "It'll never work."

Regardless, the transporter officer reports that another twelve people are being beamed in. Up on the visual, the saucer of the _Galaxy _Class ship is heading toward the _Lanchekar, _positioning itself directly in front of it….

Chekov realizes the ships are nearly off the screen now. He looks down at his controls to fix it, but Lt. Uhura is already adjusting it. He watches the screen as the phaser banks on the front of the _Venture _start to glow.

"Mr. Senvik," the captain says, his voice sounding panicked, "reverse warp engines. Get us away from here."

"Yes, sir," the Vulcan answers calmly. Despite his laid-back tone, Senvik works quickly to back up the _Encounter, _probably because they don't have time for anything but speed.

The warp power sends the _Encounter _shooting backward as the captain says, "Transporter room, try to lock onto the coordinates of as many people from that ship as you can. Get them in here before Drakely fires his phasers."

"Trying now, sir."

Chekov watches in anxious fear as the _Venture _fires its phasers. The laser never hits the war machine as a shot from the _Lanchekar _hits the front of the helpless _Venture. _The saucer section of the ship explodes and is gone within instants.

Pavel looks back at the captain in horror. Kirk's eyes are closed; Chekov assumes he never even saw the ship blow up.

"Transporter room," Kirk says slowly without opening his eyes, "how many did you get?"

The voice of the woman is choked. "Six, sir."

_Kirk _

The _Encounter _is now facing the ruined _Enterprise _alone. Just judging by the looks of them, the three guns on top of the _Lanchekar_'s saucer and three below, along with the standard photon torpedoes, are all prepared and are slowly being aimed at the bridge of Kirk's ship.

"Sir, I'm getting a communication signal. The captain of the _Lanchekar _wants to talk to you."

"Put it on audio," he snaps, though the vehemence isn't directed at Uhura.

"There's a visual as well," she adds more quietly.

"On screen."

The visual turns on as a man starts talking. The background behind him is similar to the way Jim remembers it; it's still the _Enterprise_'s bridge, which is probably why it takes him a while to actually notice the man speaking. "You have little choice except to surrender or die, Captain…" Surprise registers on the man's face. "Kirk."

It's Reves. He looks different from the last time Kirk saw him, though it has been only a few days. He appears almost as though he's aged, though it's only because he looks tired and unkempt. He also seems to have hints of a constant kind of anger in his eyes.

"I was not here with the intention of violence," Jim says through gritted teeth, "if you hadn't fired on that ship, something more reasonable might have been negotiated between us. But seeing as you have now destroyed an entire crew of people, you will have the Federation of Planets to deal with, regardless of what you do to me. It would actually be more reasonable if you were to leave me alone. That way, you could at least have the deaths of only one starship crew on your hands, not two."

"But you are an intelligent man, James T. Kirk," Reves spits, "and you would not let this go untouched. If I leave you alive, you will ruin my plan and make our war more difficult."

"You've done that on your own," Kirk interrupts, "by making the Federation your enemy. You can't expect to be able to fight Starfleet any better than you can fight the first inhabitants of the Beta-Census solar system. You know our power, don't you?"

"Then what do you suggest I do, James Kirk?" Reves challenges.

Kirk remains silent. His mind isn't working fast enough to come up with a reply.

"Rather what I thought. What you fail to realize is that I have the power of your old starship, as well as the additions we've put on. We have created a war machine, and it cannot be matched by any of your _Starfleet _vessels."

"Where's Varn?" Kirk demands suddenly.

Lieutenant—or rather, Captain Reves tenses. "Dead. She died only just before you intervened. Her ship—was one of the first to be destroyed."

The communication signal ceases. There's no dramatic speech, no warning, no nothing. The visual and the audio are suddenly off, and Kirk knows that it's nothing Lieutenant Uhura has done.

"Turn the visual back to our anterior," he orders. The screen turns back to the view in front of the _Encounter. _

The _Lanchekar _must be powering up its main phaser cannon again. The red dish is glowing slightly brighter than a moment ago. Noticeable, but subtle.

"Prepare phaser banks," the captain orders. "Fire at the points that seem the weakest. And for god's sake, Mr. Chekov, evasive action."

"Captain," First Officer Emara protests, aghast, "wouldn't it be wiser to surrender?"

"Commander Emara," Kirk says emotionlessly, "if there is _one _thing you should learn about me…. It's that I never surrender."

_Captain's Log stardate 2372.1. It seems an ill-suited time for me to record a log, but I have little to do as the battle between the _Encounter _and the ship that used to be the USS _Enterprise, _renamed the _Lanchekar, _persists. The main reason for my entry is that, should my vessel be destroyed and my new crew killed, some record of what happened should be preserved. The BC-2 _Lanchekar _is a warship nearly undefeatable by our _Constitution _Class cruiser, and I have issued a brief distress call to the other ships in the region, but there has been no response._

The _Encounter _takes a hit to its deflector. The shields were broken a few moments ago; since, the warship's weapons have been spraying shots at various places on the smaller vessel.

The bridge shudders hard enough Kirk has to clutch his chair to keep from being thrown off of it.

"Damage report, Mr. Scott," he orders through his communications panel. Scotty went down to engineering some time ago, fearing that he would be needed there before he would be needed in the bridge.

"We're hangin' on, sir. Our engine power is spluttering; it seems we've taken a few hits too many to the nacelles, but otherwise we're still capable of that evasive action the helmsmen keep demanding. The _Encounter _can take a few more hits than the _Enterprise, _I think. Not that I'm growing fond of it, of course, sir."

Were he in a more lively situation, Kirk would smile. This time, he only says, "Not our concern right now, Mr. Scott. Thank you." He clicks the communication off.

The bridge jerks again. Kirk tenses, wondering how long the _Encounter _can hold on at this rate.

"Captain," says the cool voice of Mr. Senvik, "the opposing ship has hit both of our photon torpedo tubes. I do not believe any more of them are able to be fired."

Kirk wants to swear. The only successful, damaging hits they've had on the _Lanchekar _have been with the photon torpedoes. To have them deactivated now….

Suddenly the visual turns to a different view and communication signals enter the _Encounter. _

"You have time to surrender, James Kirk," Captain Reves says. "It is still an option."

He stands up and says with a stubborn pride only James Kirk can conjure, "I will not."

"Then I will destroy your vessel. It shall only take one shot."

The visual returns to the view of space and Jim notices that the red deflector-phaser is glowing brightly. It's about to fire.

"Helmsman," he says to Senvik, "can you swing us to the right in time?"

"I cannot," the Vulcan says. For the first time, a small portion of emotion is hinted in his tone. "They seem to have a tractor beam on us, locking us into place."

Kirk stares at the visual, suddenly realizing that this is going to be the last thing he ever sees. He turns to face his new crew, glancing at each of their faces, some familiar, some unfamiliar, and says, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Captain," Emara says, her voice laced with fear, "why can't you surrender?"

"I could have," he admits, his voice quiet and low. "But if I tried now, it would be too late."

He looks back to the screen. The phaser is glowing brightly enough now he knows it's only seconds away from firing. He wants to close his eyes, but refuses to hide from the death he has condemned himself and his crew to.

The shot is fired. There's a huge explosion in front of the _Encounter, _forcing it backward about a kilometer. Something dark and fast-moving sails into view of the visual, then whips away off the left-hand side.

"Mr. Chekov," Kirk says, startled, "track that moving object with the visual. Magnify."

"Yes… sir," Chekov answers distractedly.

The visual locks onto the object and follows it as it loops back and fires at the _Lanchekar. _It's a starship with the number 80106 on its saucer. Kirk doesn't recognize that number, but he assumes this is a ship answering their distress call.

The shot at the warship is well-placed: it hits the back of its left nacelle. With another eruption of fire, the nacelle bursts into multiple pieces that float beside the _Lanchekar'_s body. The cumbersomely sized ship tries to turn to get a shot on its new assailant, but the other ship is far too agile. It circles around, getting closer to the war machine and firing continuously. It sweeps up above the ship, facing upward, and fires its aft phasers down near the _Lanchekar_'s bridge. The Federation ship is fired on, several times, but that hardly slows it down. It does a backflip, pointing its frontal phaser array at its opponent's underside and fires at the saucer. The shot must have hit an unprotected section of the ship, because there's a flash of an almost electric-like light and the warship goes still.

The starship backs up and rises slowly, across the _Lanchekar _from Kirk's ship, and turns its saucer to face the _Encounter. _Kirk cannot help but wonder who is commanding this ship, and cannot help but be impressed.

Now that the energetic ship is finally still, he can read the words on its saucer above the numbers he has seen a moment ago: USS _Triton._

"Sir."

He turns around to look at his communications officer. She's grinning. "Yes, Lieutenant Uhura?"

"I'm getting a communication frequency and an offered visual. Should I put them on?"

"Of course," he replies.

She clicks a button. "Activated, sir."

"What a pleasure it is to see you, Captain."

Kirk stares at the visual. He knew this was what he was going to get as soon as he saw that ship name, but there are still questions spinning through his mind. "Spock. Spock, why are—how…." He shakes his head. "Where's your captain?" he asks almost condescendingly.

A tiny hint of a smile plays on Spock's lips. "In my own opinion, I am looking right at him. However, if you mean the rightful captain of this vessel, he is here in the bridge with me, just standing aside. He confessed he is new to being a starship captain and admitted he was aware of my superior experience. When I offered to answer to your distress call and attempt to deal with the situation myself, he accepted."

"You arrogant bastard," Jim says, trying to hide his smirk. "Why didn't you respond? You reacted, but I had no warning you were coming."

Spock frowns as if this should be blatantly obvious. "If I contacted you, Captain… Kirk, I would have alerted the enemy vessel of my presence."

"Good point. Speaking of that vessel… Commander Emara, scan the _Lanchekar _and see what it's still capable of after the attack from the _Triton._"

She turns to her screens and scans the enemy ship. "All of its upper weapons are still functional. However, its lower ones are disabled and it's incapable of motion."

Kirk raises his eyebrows. Somehow, Spock and his logic managed to render the _Lanchekar _almost disabled with only a few shots.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, Mister Spock," Kirk says, turning back to the visual, "I have some threatening to do." The Vulcan nods and Jim gestures for Uhura to cut off the visual. "Mr. Senvik, prepare all phaser banks and aim at the _Ent—Lanchekar. _Don't fire. Lieutenant Uhura, contact it again."

"Aye, aye, sir," she replies.

Reves responds to the signal, but doesn't offer a visual. "Are you attempting to threaten me, Captain Kirk?"

"I am," Jim answers, somewhat conversationally. "Reves, you're outnumbered. You've been outmaneuvered, and we could do that again. You're also outgunned. What are your odds?"

The man makes a growling noise. "Low. But you are a heartless man, Kirk. You realize, and yet refuse to react to, the fact that we can't win this battle, this war, without the _Lanchekar._ You try to destroy it and the people who have died trying to protect its construction will have done so in vain."

"Those men and women died trying to end your so-called war. Give up my—your ship, and we can convince the aliens to leave you alone without any more violence."

There's a sigh from the other end of the communication. "You are right, Captain. But I am unsure that you can actually convince them to stop."

Jim raises an eyebrow. "You're just going to have to trust me."

A long pause meets his sentence. "Prove that I can."

The captain hesitates. "Mr. Senvik, lower shields and disengage all phaser banks."

"But sir," Senvik says with some confusion in his voice, "that is illogical. We do not know that the phaser on our opponent's ship is dysfunctional."

"Follow your order, please, Mr. Senvik," Kirk says firmly.

The Vulcan raises his eyebrows and turns back to his controls.

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact Spock and tell him to do the same."

Frowning, she nods and does so. After a moment, she turns back with a small smile and says, "He says that is highly illogical. But he's going to do it anyway."

Kirk sits back on his chair and waits. After a moment he says, since the channel is still open, "Do you trust me well enough, Captain Reves?"

A frustrated sigh meets his question. "I see no reason I should, but I do. Very well. You may do as necessary to this vessel. Can you transport my crew to your ship? I have only about a hundred people."

Kirk tenses. Last time he had that request, he failed and the weight of hundreds of deaths were indirectly on his shoulders. And yet he knows he has far more control over the situation this time, so he says, "Yes. It will take some time, but it's possible."

_Spock _

Spock waits in the bridge of the USS _Triton. _He knows Kirk will handle the rest of what needs to be done, but his mind is still assessing the logically negative possibilities of what could happen. So far, there is a comfortably few amount.

"Spock, we've got the rest of Reves's crew. We're ready to deal with those alien life-forms."

"Accepted, Captain. Now how… exactly, do you intend to do that?"

"Well, in case you haven't checked your visual, the battle seemed to have slowed considerably. I actually believe they were depending on us to display the outcome. From what I can tell, and what the few communication signals between their vessels can tell, they believe that if we are destroyed, then the _Lanchekar _has had a victory. If it has, they would think that the humans can defeat them. As of right now, it appears we have won."

"But if it doesn't…" Spock says, catching on to Kirk's plan immediately.

"Exactly," the captain says slyly.

Strangely, Spock is having a hard time resisting the temptation to smile.

"Make something blow up," Kirk continues. "Shoot a photon torpedo as I activate my phasers. We're going to have to synchronize this perfectly. As soon as the explosion goes off, shut down all your power."

"Lieutenant," he orders Mr. Sulu, "prepare a photon torpedo. Whenever you're ready, Captain. Kirk."

"Ready. On three." The countdown proceeds and the shots are fired simultaneously. There's an explosion as they connect and it engulfs the space between the two ships.

"Lieutenant," Spock orders the engineering officer, "shut off all main power, deactivate engines, and keep shields lowered."

"Yes, sir," she says.

"But Captain," Spock says, turning back to the visual, "are you going to beam aboard the _Enterprise_?"

"Not the _Enterprise,_" the captain corrects, an emotion Spock doesn't immediately identify twisted into his voice. "The _Lanchekar. _But yes. And I'll take Scotty with me."

Spock nods. "Is your power off now?"

"It is, and I'm going to get ready to beam in soon."

"Captain, I must say, this is an unanticipated stroke of intelligence."

"Why, Spock. I would take that as a compliment, except I'm not fond of that word 'unanticipated'. You should have a little more faith in me." He smiles before saying, "Kirk out."

_Scott _

"How do the engines look?"

"Well, about how you would expect, sir," Mr. Scott reports. "One of them is completely gone, so not well."

"Can you still get this thing to move?"

"I can't imagine why not. Surely, sir, you don't think the lack of an engine can slow me down, do you?"

The captain smiles. "I would never jump to such an unfounded conclusion."

It's kind of hard for Scotty to be on the bridge, despite his outwardly positive mood. It feels so much like he's on the _Enterprise, _the real _Enterprise, _and yet he isn't. The ship has been converted into the kind of weapon Starfleet would hesitate for years just to make. It's a hideous mess from the outside, and seeing it that way almost makes him feel like he's looking at a tortured friend. There is only one _Enterprise. _That's the hardest thing for him to think about.

"Engines—engine is operating well enough, Captain," Scott says distractedly. "You can turn this thing around now."

"Very good, thank you, Scotty." Kirk, who seems to have also been in a state of nostalgic thought about the ship, pulls himself out of it and goes to Mr. Sulu's usual post. He adjusts the controls until the ship turns around, which is evident by the revolving of the visual angle. "Lieu—Oh, damn, she isn't here." He stands up and goes to the communication officer's place. "Scotty, take the helm."

Mr. Scott seats himself in the chair and stops the ship's turn once it's facing the line of alien ships.

"This is—" Kirk stops himself. He clicks the communication off and says to Scotty, "What do I call myself? I shouldn't be Kirk, since he's supposedly dead in the disabled _Encounter._"

"Reves," Scotty answers. "Just call yourself Reves."

He nods once. "This is, uh, Weslen Reves of the BC-2 _Lanchekar,_" he says, making his voice lower pitched to try to sound more like Reves. "It is a display of this vessel's superiority that I have destroyed two—" his expression tightens "—three Federation starships. After witnessing that, are you willing to attempt to fight me?"

For a moment there's no reply. Scotty watches the captain, who's cringing, probably thinking he's failing this terribly.

"We are not," the gravelly voice responds slowly. "We will back down."

"That is wise," the captain says, his voice hinting his relief. "We have done you no harm. We can coexist in the same solar system without incident, but should you choose to attack us again…."

"We understand," the alien snaps. "You can have your peace, human. We will keep it."

Without another word, Kirk flips the signal off. He swivels to chair so he can look at Scott. "That's that."

"Yes it is, sir," he replies. "Now what are we going to do with this thing?"

"Ah yes," the captain says, his tone saddening. "My _Enterprise._"

"There's… no hope of taking it back to Starfleet and having them fix it, is there?" Scotty says, his question sounding more like a meek statement.

Kirk shakes his head. "They went too far for that. But we can't leave it in the hands of the Beta-Census Two colony. And it's no use—no use to us. So I can only say we should destroy it."

"It seems a shame," Scotty says, "but I guess it's not really the _Enterprise _anymore."

"No. My _Constitution _cruiser is gone, and it's time we both let that go." Kirk runs his hand along the back of his captain's chair. He stares at it for a long time, probably thinking of all the things that have happened right here within the last few years, and wishing, like Scotty is, that he didn't have to leave it. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replies sadly.

"Computer," Kirk says, turning toward the science officer's position. "Prepare automatic destruction."

"Prepared," replies the computer voice.

"James Kirk, Captain. Destruct sequence one, code one-one A." He looks to Scotty.

"Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineering Officer. Destruct sequence two, code one-one A-two B."

"Destruct sequence 3, code one B-two B-3."

The computer responds, after approving each code, "Destruct sequence completed and engaged. Awaiting final code for one-minute countdown."

The captain closes his eyes and says, "Code zero zero zero. Destruct. Zero."

_Kirk _

The _Lanchekar _is destroyed within moments. Mr. Scott and Kirk were beamed out of it and the two vessels backed away as the old ship's saucer blows up, followed by the rest of its body. It pains Jim to see the destruction of his _Enterprise, _or what used to be his _Enterprise, _to the extent that he refuses to watch the visual as the _Encounter _turns away from the remains. He decides, in the dullness of his thoughts after the incident, that about the only two people who can cheer him about it are Christopher Pike and/or Leonard McCoy. He resolves to seek one of them out after he's back to one of the Starbases. Until then, he'll distract himself as best he can.

_Captain's Log stardate 2374.9. The conflict at Beta-Census 2 has been resolved. The loss of the USS _Venture _and its hundreds of crew members is weighing on many of our minds now, but the colony on the planet, as well as my ship and the USS _Triton, _have been spared. We now are headed back together toward Starbase 6, again in need of repairs._

"You know, Mister Spock, I must admit I'm impressed with your starship-flying capabilities," Jim acknowledges through the intership communication.

"I only conceived the maneuvers," Spock says with his logical modesty, which Kirk actually likes better than the slight arrogance he was noticing before. "It was Mr. Sulu who actually carried them out."

Kirk smiles. "I should have known. He is a very good helmsman, isn't he?" He can hear the quieter voice of Mr. Sulu say he's flattered, sir.

"That is of your opinion," the Vulcan says, "but I will concede that his steering was suitable for the requirements of the situation."

"You know, Spock?"

"I do know him. We are well-acquainted."

Kirk rolls his eyes good-humoredly and says, "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then, Captain?" he asks, his face devoid of expression but his dark eyes glinting with humor.

"You know, I was going to say I'm glad you're a Vulcan. But considering what you just said, I think I'll say this: I am very, very glad you're both."

Spock gives him a small, hesitant smile. Then he cocks his head and says, "Jim?"

"Yes."

"I have neglected to tell you, but I probably should: they have scheduled the construction of the NCC-1701 – A."

Kirk stares at him. "You're kidding."

"Sir, Vulcans do—"

"Not kid. I know. But no, Spock, seriously?"

"Unreservedly earnest, Captain."

Jim Kirk grins. "That's the best thing I've heard all year."

Spock frowns. "Really?"

Kirk thinks of the time he heard Spock wasn't dead. "No. Second best, without a doubt." He narrows his eyes. "Why were you waiting until now to tell me that?"

"Well, I only learned it shortly after leaving the docking station at Starbase 6," Spock says slightly defensively. "They contacted me because they assumed you were too preoccupied to be spoken to."

"Well next time, tell me immediately. It would improve my mood astronomically."

"I hope, Captain, that there is not a next time."

"Hm," Kirk says. "Excellent point." There's a small lull in the conversation, and then he says, "Well, it'll take us years to get back to a starbase while going this acceleration, so let's speed up a bit. Warp factor two, Mr. Senvik."

Spock shrugs and says, "Warp factor two, Mr. Sulu."


End file.
